Life Throws You a Curve Ball
by Manchester's Stubborn Pansy
Summary: What will Ranger do when he finds out 17 years later he is not divorced from his first wife?


LIFE THROWS A CURVE BALL

BY: Manchester's Stubborn Pansy

I am Stephanie Plum Manoso, I am a newly wed to Ricardo Carlos Manoso, aka Ranger . We have been married for two months and we just got back from our honeymoon. I got an email from Ranger's (Carlos' daughter by his first marriage). Julie is 17 and will turn 18 in three months. Julie wants to move here to go to college.

I go into Ranger's office. "Babe." (This is his pet name for me.)

"I got an email from Julie wanting to live here so she can go to college."

"I will check with Rachel (Julie's mother) to see what we can arrange."

Ranger and I had also planned a fall trip to Italy and Rachel had given Julie permission to go with us. Julie's adopted father, Ron, died of cancer about a month ago and Julie has a female pen pal in Italy for the last 5 years and Julie wanted to meet her before going to college.

I started researching what documents we had to have to get her passport.. Also I thought of starting a scrapbook for Julie about her upbringing with pictures and documents she might need some day.

I sent off for court documents of Julie's birth certificate, the legal agreement for the adoption, the adoption papers, the marriage license for Rachel and Ranger, the divorce papers, the marriage license of Rachel and Ron.

The package arrived by UPS and Hal signed for it and called to tell it was at the lobby. I went down and picked it up. I opened it and started looking at them. I told you I was a curious soul. But I also have what the men call Spidey Senses. I can tell when something is off with the information around me or if I am somewhere I can usually feel trouble and am on the alert for it.

I was looking at the divorce papers for Rachel and Ranger. It struck me as odd that the Judge's secretary's signature NOT the judge's signature is on the Decree! OH MY GOD! Does this mean the marriage was never dissolved? Then Ranger is a BIGAMIST!

I ran screaming into Ranger's home office. "Ranger we aren't married!"

"Babe?"

I handed him the papers and showed him the papers and where the secretary's signature was and where the judge's signature should have been.

"There has to be some mistake!"

"What are we going to do?"

"Let me get the lawyer on the phone."

Ranger picked up the phone and called the lawyer. John Kincaid. "We have a major problem that has just came to my attention."

"What is the problem, Carlos?"

"I have just found there is a chance that Rachel and I were never fully divorced which makes me a bigamist!"

"That is not possible! What makes you think it is not legal?"

"The judge did not sign it his secretary did!"

"That can't be. We were all in court and he signed something!"

"I will fax you the paper Stephanie got from the court and there is NO JUDGE'S SIGNATURE!"

"How could this have happened?"

"This is why I pay you big bucks to find out, John!"

"I will go to the courthouse in person and get to the bottom of this. I will let you know what I find out."

Ranger hung up.

"Babe, what made you get those papers?"

"If Julie gets to live here we need to have all the proof here. But I was going to order her passport for our trip to Italy in the fall. Also I want to start a scrapbook for her and these are papers she will need as she gets older."

"I am always proud of your curiosity. Babe but this tops them all!"

"You aren't mad?"

"Not if it turns out that Rachel and I are still married. It will cancel Julie's adoption and I could be charged with bigamy."

"Ranger, when we got our marriage license we had to give them a copy of the divorce paper. Where is your copy of it?"

"Downstairs in the file."

"Does it have a signature on it?"

"I never paid any attention. Let's go look."

Ranger and I went down to his office. Ranger dug the folder out of his filing cabinet. He opened it up and leafed through the papers. When he got the paper his face showed shock. He showed me the paper and it showed the secretary's signature but no judge's signature.

"How could our courthouse have missed that missing signature?"

"I don't know?"

Ranger took me in his arms and hugged me tight. "I will tell you Babe I don't know what I would do with out you!"

I felt the desperation in his arms. I am not used to see Ranger show fear but this could get nasty if it ever got out. It could destroy his company if the papers or TV catches wind of it.

I felt like crying but did not want to inflict any more pain on him. There was no running from this problem.

John Kincaid made the trip to Miami. He went to the courthouse and had them pull up the case. It was on microfiche and they printed it off. John was shocked when he saw there was NO JUDGE'S signature. He asked to speak to the head clerk.

He pointed out the discrepancy of the missing signature. She about had a heart attack! "This can't be!"

"How do we fix this?"

"This judge is dead it can't be fixed."

"Can you get me into see a Family Court Judge?"

"Let me get him on the phone. She made the call and came back and told John Kincaid to up the 6th floor and it is Room 602.

John went up to Room 602 and he knocked on the door. "Come in."

John went in and introduced himself. He showed Judge Carter the paper and he asked him "How do I fix this?"

Judge Carter was as surprised as John was. After examining the paper and checking a few law books he told John. "The only way to fix this is to refile the paper."

"But here is the catch. This couple thought they were divorced. The woman remarried and they were allowed to adopt the child from the first marriage. This will annul that adoption. The woman's second husband is dead. The adoption can't be refiled. The man has remarried which makes him a bigamist. He is a security specialist and this could destroy his business."

Judge Carter asked to take it under consideration for him to find some legal precedent. He told John to call him in two days.

John Kincaid called Ranger. "Ranger their copy shows the secretary signed the Decree but the Judge did not. The Family Court Judge is going to check legal books for precedence. He will let me know in two days."

"How are we going to keep this secret?"

"I will do my best."

John went back to the clerk's office and asked her to keep it quiet so it did not cause any publicity for them or for the parties involved. She said she would try because it would reflect back on her as well.

John then went up to Judge Carter's office and asked him the same thing

and he agreed so it did not disparage Judge Johnson's name since the Judge had several things named after him.

Two days later Judge Carter called John Kincaid with devastating news.

"I have talked to four Family Court Judges around Florida and they all tell me the original divorce will have to be refiled. The waiting period can be waived due to the circumstances. If you can get both parties here I can hear the full story and we can file the decree right away since it is obvious that the marriage is broken.

As far as the adoption goes. Since the adopted father is gone then the child's name must revert back to her birth name and the adoption will have to be declared null and void. Will your client be willing to do this?"

"I will call him and let you know. Thank you, Judge Carter."

John calls Ranger and tells him what the Judge said.

"I will have to talk to Rachel but I am sure she will agree to the divorce. She isn't going to like the name change thing but I guess she will have no choice. I will fly to Florida today and talk to Rachel in person. She will be furious. This will mess up her Social Security she has drawn off of Ron as his widow. This is one hell of a mess."

"Devil's Advocate... what if she refuses to get the divorce again?"

"I don't even want to think about that. But if she does then I guess we will get messy and I will file myself."

"Let me know what she says."

"I will."

Ranger went up to seventh floor and started packing a bag. He called Stephanie and told her to come upstairs to the apartment.

Stephanie comes in and sees him packing his bag. "Bad news?"

"Yes. The divorce is not legal. But the Family Court Judge is willing to waive the waiting period due to the circumstances and give us one as soon as we both get there."

"That will be good, right?"

"It also makes the adoption illegal and Julie will have to change her name back to Manoso."

"Rachel will be furious."

"Not only that but it will cause her trouble with Social Security over her drawing Ron's widow's benefits."

"Crap!"

"Do you want to go with me?"

"If you don't care."

"Babe, I need your spidey senses more now than ever before."

"Then I will be glad to go with you.

Ranger had the jet ready for us and we took off for Miami. Ranger had told Rachel that something had came to his attention and it concerned her as well and that we would need to talk to her and Julie as soon as we got there.

Rachel was furious because he wouldn't discuss it on the phone. But I agreed with Ranger this mess needed to be done in person.

We arrived in Miami and we were picked up and taken straight to Rachel's house. We knocked on her door.

"Ranger what the hell is this about?"

"Can we come in?"

"Yes." We entered the house and Ranger went to sit on the couch.

"Rachel, Stephanie was planning a scrapbook for Julie but when she got some of the documents she realized that there is a discrepancy with yours and my divorce papers. As it turns out you and I are not legally divorced."

"Say what? How can this be? You have to be wrong."

"Sorry Rachel, I am dead serious. Which means right now I am committing bigamy by being married to Stephanie."

"How do we fix this?"

"I have a judge willing to let us refile the divorce papers and he will sign the decree right away."

"OK. That seems easy enough. Rachel that will only settle one thing. Your marriage to Ron wasn't legal either."  
"What about our kids?"

"They can carry Ron's name because he is their father but Julie will have to go back to Manoso. The adoption will be declared null and void."

"How did this happen?"  
"When Stephanie was looking over the documents that the court sent her for Julie's scrapbook. She noticed that the secretary signed the Decree and not the Judge. She doesn't have the authority to do that and no one ever caught it."

"You mean to tell me I was never married to Ron?"

"No, you are still legally married to me as of right now."

"What about my widow's benefits I am drawing against Ron?"

"All of that will have to be paid back. I will gladly pay that for you. Plus I will talk to the Judge and have him to write double the about of those benefits as alimony so you won't lose any money because of this mess up."

"What do you need from me?"

"Just go with me to the courthouse and let's redo the divorce. I will ask that the file be sealed so word can't get out. It would cause repercussions with your friends."

"I would be so embarrassed."

"Let me have John Kincaid set up the appointment."

Ranger went outside and called John Kincaid. John said he would get an appointment and let Ranger know when it would be.

Ranger came back in and told us John would call him back.

"Ranger, how are we going to tell Julie?"

"Rachel, she is almost 18 we treat her like an adult. She needs to know you did nothing wrong just like I did nothing wrong. I hope she won't be mad at either one of us."

Ranger's phone rang. "Yes, John."

"Tomorrow at 9:30 am in Judge Carter's office."

"We will be there. Thanks, John."

"Tomorrow morning at 9:30 am. We will try this again. I will help you talk to Julie with you."

"I will be ready. Where are you staying?"

"RangeMan. Are you going to be alright, Rachel?"

"I don't know Ranger. This is so messed up."

"But we have Stephanie to thank for catching it before it went on any longer and someone else figure it out and spread it publicly."

"Stephanie, I appreciate your finding this. I am sorry for you and Ranger because are caught up in the mess as well."

"Rachel how about you and I tell Julie together? That way she will know that you and I are both there for her."

"Thank you, Stephanie. Julie loves you too."

"You know Julie wants to go to college in New Jersey? We would love to have her. We even have a house that we can use so she won't be staying at RangeMan but we want you to come for a visit and let you check out where she will be. It is only about 10 minutes from the college and 15 minutes from RangeMan and it is secure. Ranger wouldn't have it any other way."

"I would love to check it out. But what about the other 2 kids?"

Stephanie looked at Ranger. "Is there room in the jet?"

"You know there is, Babe. Rachel can you get away for a week so we can show you what the college is like and where she will be staying."  
"Are you sure the house is big enough for all of us?"

"It is a six bedroom house with a pool and a game room"

"Wonder when we will have this done and over?"

"John said it should be done and final tomorrow."

"When will you have to leave?"

"We can leave when you are ready."

"Can we leave right away? I need to get away to think."

"Sure if you like."

The next day they all enter the Judge Chambers' chambers.

"We all know why we are here. I apologize for this oversight. I want to hear from you what you would like done with this problem."

John Kincaid started to speak but the judge said. "I need to hear from the petitioners first."

"Your Honor, my name is Rachel. I was married to Ricardo years ago. It was a result of a one-night stand and he did his job by marrying me and he has continued to support our daughter. I fully intended to be divorced when I signed those papers. This problem is going to cause me plenty of trouble. I married my second husband believing I had every right to do so. Now I find out I am in trouble with the Social Security because I am drawing widow benefits. I also have two children who are not Ricardo's. I would like to repeat the divorce proceedings so I can begin to straighten out my life."

Rachel continued. "I haven't yet told our daughter about this mess. But Ricardo is a very honorable man. He deserves to freely marry Stephanie again because they are truly in love and I hold no animosity toward either of them. Your Honor, Ricardo has agreed to pay Social Security back for me. He has the means to do so. He also told me he would pay me twice what I was getting in widow benefits as alimony so he is still taking care of me. I think we both deserve this divorce if any one does. Thank you, Your Honor."

"Mr. Manoso, what do you have to say?"

"Your Honor, what Rachel says is the truth. We are friends but there is no marriage salvageable material there. I did make those promise of support to her and I would like it written up that I will continue her support until her death or until her remarriage. I will continue to support Julie, our daughter through college and later if needed. I would love to be free to marry Stephanie again. It took us 4 years to get together I want to spend the rest of my life with her. So we need this divorce settled so that can happen."

Stephanie was in shock at how talkative Ranger was.

"Mr. Kincaid, what do you have to say?"  
"Your Honor, they trusted the legal system but they were not dealt with fairly and I feel it is only fair that the legal system repair its mistake and make both people whole."

"I have heard both sides and I have thought long and hard what I would do if I found myself in their shoes. I have been married 25 years and I would expect the court to fix it for me. I hereby decree that this divorce is granted and I had my secretary to draw up the Final Decree. Mrs. Manoso you can use any name you like to use but my suggestion is you go back to Manoso. But with other children you may keep that name as well. I never mentioned the name change in the Decree."

The judge handed both of them copies of the Final Decree. Please read it and thanks to Mr. Kincaid calling me earlier today I was able to put the new alimony payments into this Decree. Is this Decree acceptable to both of you?"

"Yes, Your Honor." Rachel said

"Yes, Your Honor." Ranger said.

"Then I will sign these four copies in your presence so you do not have to wait any longer." The Judge signed all four copies. He gave Rachel a copy, Ranger a copy, John Kincaid got a copy and the court got a copy.

"Now, as to the adoption of Julie Manoso. I have no choice but to ask that she goes back to Julie Manoso since that is her birth name. I also suggest you tell her as soon as possible. Is there any dissension on this?"

"No, Your Honor." Rachel said.

"No, Your Honor." Ranger said.

"What about you Mr. Kincaid?"

"No, Your Honor." John said.

"Then here is the amendment to the adoption. Please read and sign it if there are no questions. This Decree has five copies since Julie will have to have a copy to redo her Social Security card."

All parties signed them and Judge Carter gave Rachel two copies and Ranger and Mr. Kincaid both got a copy as did the Court.

"Is there any other thing I can help you two with?"

"No, Your Honor." Rachel said.

"No, Your Honor." Ranger said.

"No, Your Honor." John Kincaid said.

"I deeply appreciate this matter being brought before the Court for a remedy. I also am sealing this hearing and the documents for 25 years so not amount of probing will uncover this mistake made by this court. I give you all my deepest sympathies for this mix up."

"Thank you, Your Honor." As Ranger stood and shook the Judge's hand.

Rachel and John Kincaid did the same.

They left the courthouse with relief until they came out of the courthouse to a media circus. Ranger and John pushed the women through the crowd and got into the SUV that was waiting on them. Ranger spit out the words "NO COMMENT!"

Rachel asked Ranger. "Who tipped them off?"

"I don't know but I will find out."

They dodged a couple of tails they noticed and Ranger called Miami headquarters and ordered 24 hour security on Rachel's house. Ranger also ordered an investigation in who tipped off the court that Rachel and him were at the courthouse. He wanted the responsible person held at RangeMan until he could talk to them.

They took Rachel home to pack for her and the kids.

Rachel called Julie at her friend's house and told her to have Becky's father bring her home.

"Why, Mom?"

"We are leaving town tonight."

"Where we going?"

"Trenton for awhile. Ranger is here and we have to have a family meeting and we all are going to leave in a few hours."

"What is wrong, Mom?"

"Ranger and I will explain it to you after you get here. I am going to check out a house Ranger has. You wanted to go to college in Trenton and I am going to check it out and am considering let you move to Trenton."

"Really, Mom! I will be home in a few minutes. Thanks, Mom!"

Ranger loaded everyone into the jet and they left for Trenton. Ranger called Tank and had him bring two SUV's to the airport.

When they landed he had the driver to take them to safe house. Rachel was shocked when she saw the house. She never believed it would be that enormous and with all the alarms it would be very expensive.

Julie had stayed here before and she took her sister upstairs and showed her their room. Her sister, Carrie, was shocked at everything. "Julie, is this where Ranger brings you?"

"Yes, Carrie. His apartment at RangeMan is only one bedroom."

"You are so lucky."

Rachel was shown to her room and was well pleased.

I took Ron, Jr. to his room and he loved it because it had an X Box console with games in it. "Wow! I get this room all to myself?"

"Sure do buddy."

"Julie sure is lucky.

"Well if Julie gets to go to college here then I am sure Ranger will let you visit her once in awhile."

"I would love that!"

"You get unpacked and come down when you are ready."

"Thanks, Stephanie.

"You are welcome, Buddy."

Ron Jr. gave her a big hug. "Can we always be buddies?"

"If you want to I would love that too."

"I like you."

I ruffled his hair. "I like you too. Have fun."

Ranger was in the kitchen and he was getting out the plates out because he had ordered pizzas for them.

I sat across from Rachel. "Are you going to be alright?"

"Yes, I am not sure what name I am going to use though. If I chose Manoso that will be confusing if you are around. But also I don't want to have to explain it to the other two kids."

"I would check with a lawyer but I understand why you want to keep your current name. Or you could go to court and have it legally changed due to it is the court's fault for the mix up."

"Thanks, Stephanie then I would not have to explain it to the kids."

"Not until they are older. Sorry I caused you this much trouble."

"It is not your fault but at least now we can repair everything so it turned out for the best."

"Stephanie, I am glad you and I are friends."

"I am too, Rachel. I am glad Ranger decided to give you the alimony because he won't worry so much about you."

"Does he still worry?"

"Yes, he wants to make sure that you are alright for the kids sake. If something happens to you he would hope you leave instructions for him to care for them if they are still little and I would love to do the same."

"I hadn't even thought about that. What with Ron dying so early maybe I need to get my head out of my grief and make some arrangements. Thanks, Stephanie."

The pizzas arrived and Ranger buzzed the gate open and paid the driver and left him a good tip.

Everyone gathered round and they all had a good time.

Come Monday Ranger and I took all the paper work to the Courthouse and reapplied for a marriage license. They explained what happened and the Clerk contacted one of the Judges and we were given a remarriage document and they were sent to see the judge who performed the ceremony to make us legally Man and Wife, AGAIN!.

"Ranger, which is our wedding anniversary?"

"Why can't we celebrate both?"

"Sort of a trial run?"

"No, more time to make love to you, my wife."

"Watch it Batman, people are going to call you romantic."

"Let them, with you it comes easy."

"How are we going to have a honeymoon with a house full?"

"We will wait until they leave and we can truly be alone."

"Sounds like you have plans."

"Don't I always?"

I smiled at him and we both knew what those looks meant.

On Tuesday, I took Rachel and Julie to see Princeton University. They checked into the Admissions Office and got an official tour and Princeton is actually only 3 miles for the house. Rachel liked what she saw. Julie was real excited.

After the tour I took them to the small diner where I first met Ranger. We ordered and we were in a back booth and I looked at Julie.

"Julie, this is going to be a girls only session. You knew something was going on to take us to Florida on the spur of the moment?"

"Mom, said she would tell me but she hasn't done it yet."

"Julie, we couldn't let the other two hear us. You know I see things that others miss?"

"Yes, the guys thinks you are a mind reader."

"No, I am not. But I wanted to surprise you be sending for your own passport. But when I got the papers back I found out that your Mother and Ranger were never legally divorced."

"What happened?"

"Seems as if a Secretary signed the Decree and not the Judge. That made it illegal. It was not your mother or father's fault."

"Did you get it fixed?"

"Yes, thanks to Ranger we did. But there is more to the story. If your mother and Ranger were never divorced then she could not legally marry Ron. That and with them not being divorced that causes your adoption not to be legal either."

"What? But I loved Ron. Honey, we know you did and we aren't asking you to forget him and you can still think of him as your father. But there is a major change because of it."

"There is more?"

"Julie, when we get back to the house we will show you a paper from the court. It says since the adoption was rescinded the court is changing your name back to Manoso."

"What does, Dad say?"

"He has no complaints. But before you get too upset if you do get to come here for college the Manoso name will carry a lot of weight because of your Dad's company and his contributions to the community. So around here Manoso may open more doors for you."

"What do you think, Mom?"

"I have been in shock but Ranger has taken care of all the financial things and he will give me alimony which he was not paying before so I can better take care of the other two kids better. I have no objection to you changing your last name. With Ron gone you can go back to using Manoso without worrying about hurting Ron's feelings. As for me, I think you moving here may be good for you and if you can get admitted I will gladly sign the papers."

"Thank You, Thank You, Mom!" Julie threw her arms around her mother.

Then Julie threw her arms around Stephanie. "Thank you for treating me like an adult. I am not happy that Mom's feelings got hurt and all that but like you said the name Manoso may come in handy around here especially since you and Dad are married."

"Julie, there is still more."

"MORE?"

"Your father committed bigamy when he married me because he was still legally married to your mother."

"Is he going to jail."

"No, it was not his fault since he didn't know either. BUT we went to the courthouse and got it straightened out and a judge remarried us yesterday so we are legally married again."

"Whew! Is that what all the whispering has been about?"

"We tried not to talk loud enough for the two little ones to hear. They are too young to understand."

"When I get back to Miami I am going to talk to our lawyer and petition the court to carry Ron's last name so they won't find out. Ron will always be their father and I am still their mother even though we did not realize Ron and I were never married."

"I like that idea, Mom."

"It was Stephanie's idea."

"Mom, you may get mad at me but can I call Stephanie Mom #2 without hurting your feelings?"

"Julie, when did you grow up so much without my noticing it? Yes, you may because Stephanie has done nothing since this mess started but act on your behalf."

"You don't mind do you, Stephanie?"  
"No, I don't mind. I have always loved having you around."

"Will Dad get mad because he wasn't here for this talk?"

"You know your father, he will act like he is but like Stephanie said this needed to be done between us girls."

"I will take care of any nastiness out of your Dad. I will calm him down for you."

"Yeah spend all night in bed."

"Julie!"

"Mom, I am almost 18. But those two are like teenagers in heat."

I broke out in laughter. "Julie, sometimes he makes me feel like a teenager."

"Julie, you aren't supposed to say things like that out loud."

"Come on Mom, Dad is always telling me to not keep secrets like he did from Stephanie."

"Sorry Rachel, he did tell her that so we can blame it on him since he is not here to defend himself."

All three of broke out in laughter.

It was a good day and now came the time to return to Batman!

I drove them back to the safe house.

"Ranger, we are home."

"Did you enjoy your visit, Julie?"

"Yes, I did. They gave us a personal tour and I have all the papers I need to apply."

"Well, good. Did you bother to ask your Mother if you could do that?"

"Daddy, we had a girl's session at the diner where you met Mom #2. We all three came to some decisions."

"Without me?"

"We knew you would give in one of us anyway."

Ranger grinned. "Tell me what I am in for."

"I will be applying to Princeton. If I get accepted I will stay here and go to school. Where are Carrie and Ron, Jr?"

"There are out in the pool with Hal. Why?"

"Dad, can we set down?"

Ranger sat down. "OK, what is this all about?"

"I told Julie about the court mix up."

"Without asking me?"

All three of the girls started laughing. That did not go over well with Mr Control!

"What is so funny?"

"Ranger, all three of us knew you would be irritated but I decided this was a "woman's" conversation so I talked to Julie like the adult she is and not a child.

Julie understood it was not her Mother's fault or Yours. We all three discussed it and we decided the best thing for everyone is for Rachel to go to court and petition the court to legally change her name to Ron's for the sake of the other two kids. Plus we explained about having to change Julie's name back to Manoso."

"You, really did all this talking without me?"

"Yeah, Dad, and there was no fighting over anything. Unless you don't want me to take your last name?"  
"Julie Marie you know better than that!"

"Chill, Dad. Besides Stephanie had a good point. If I move here then the name Manoso is well known and it could open doors or give me street cred so no one will mess with Ranger Manoso's daughter."

"Julie, where did you hear language like that?"

"The guys. But Stephanie is right. Mom agreed to all of it with no complaints. Didn't you Mom."  
" Yes, Julie, I sure did. Mr. Aware of his surroundings missed something at the start of this conversation didn't he?"

"What the heck did I miss?"

I laughed at him.

"What is so funny?"

"Tell him, Julie."

"Dad, I ask Stephanie if I could call her Mom #2 and she said I could."

"Well did you leave anything for me to do?"

"Pay for college, Dad." Ranger had a shocked looked on his face.

"Dad, you ought to know by now you are out numbered with the three of us here."

"Guess I better get used to it huh?"

Ranger grabbed Julie because she was the close to him. "I need to turn you over my knee young lady."

"You are strong enough but I will get even if you do."  
"Well, is that a threat?"  
"No, a promise Dad. I may not be able to beat you but I can make you work for it. Cal has taught me well."

"Maybe I need to have a talk with the men about this."

"It would cost you more in body guards if you do that."

"You are getting too smart for you britches, young lady."

Julie laughed at him. "Yeah, Dad and you helped teach me some of the moves so you are partly to blame."

Ranger threw up his hands "I surrender!"

Julie threw her arms around his neck and sat on his lap.

"I love you, Daddy. Please don't be mad at us. Just means one less thing for you to do."

"What if I didn't agree with your decisions."

"The only decision for you to make is to pay. The court decided everything else and I agree the other two don't need to know right now."

"How did you get so smart?"

" I am a Manoso so why wouldn't I be smart?"

Once again we were laughing at her smart mouth. Ranger started to say something and decided better of it. He was outnumbered and Julie was correct the court had made most of the decisions. He just shook his head.

"You know I love you, don't you Jules?"

"Yes, Daddy, I do and I love you too. I am proud to be a Manoso and I will try to make you proud of me."

Ranger squeezed her waist. "Honey, I already am!"

Meanwhile in Miami the RangeMan office has done some digging and found out that a worker overheard the clerk and done some digging on her own.

What she found out intrigued her because she remembered Ranger from a one night stand and he never called her back. She saw a chance to get back at him. Him and his smug attitude. Yes she remembered him and still wanted him after all these years.

Stella, was her name. She contacted an investigative reporter she knew and showed him the paper. The reporter took it from there. It hit the TV News like a ton of bricks.

Brian Martin, manager of the Miami Office called Ranger.

"Boss, the TV is spreading the trouble all over the place. What do you want me to do?"

"I will fly down and take care of it."

Ranger goes to talk to Stephanie. "Miami has a problem I need to take care of."

"What is wrong?"

"Seems as if a lesser clerk overheard the conversation between the clerk and John Kincaid. According to Brian Martin she went to the TV news with a copy of the divorce degree before Judge Carter sealed the file. She let them know that the divorce was never final and that I am a bigamist."

"We knew that it was possible it would get out but I thought we had it sealed but guess not."

"There is more to the story, Babe."

"Tell me?"

"The woman's name is Stella and I had a one night stand with her after the so-called divorce from Rachel. She is trying to get back at me for not calling her again. This is according to the Investigative Reporter."

"Fine. That is your past. But why try to ruin you after all this time?"

"I have no clue. But who understands people who hold grudges this long until it turns into an obsession?"

"What about Rachel and the kids?"

"We need to talk to Rachel because I have to leave immediately.'"

Ranger knocks on Rachel's door. "Come in."

"Rachel a problem has come up in Miami that needs taken care of. It involves the media we saw when we left Judge Carter's office."

"I wondered how they found out so fast."

"It was a lesser clerk from the courthouse who got a copy of the illegal divorce paper before Judge Carter sealed the file. But she also was a one-night stand of mine right after our so-called divorce. She is trying to get back at me for not calling her back."

"That was so long ago."

"Her hatred has turned into an obsession. I need to go to Miami to take care of this. You and the kids can go back with me or you can stay and I will fly you home later. Your Choice."

"We will go home with you. I need to work on getting that name change."

"OK. I will get a hold of Jim, the pilot, and we will leave in two hours."

"I am sorry, Carlos."

"So am I. I hoped to keep it quiet but it is what is and we have done nothing wrong. It is all fixed legally so we will face it and work from there."

"Carlos, you are a very good man. I am proud to ever have known you and I am proud of how you handle things even when they look bad for all of us."

Ranger hugged Rachel. "Thank you, Rachel. I am sorry you and I didn't work out but I will never be sorry we had Julie. You gave me the best gift a man could ask for. For that I will always be grateful for that gift."

"You are welcome. She is a true gift."

"Let's go round up the kids so they can get ready to go home."

Two hours later they were boarding the plane. It was a quiet flight everyone had their own thoughts about the situation they were flying into.

Ranger was met at the airport by the SUV and they took Rachel and the kids home. There was no sign of the media but Brian had increased security around the house. Ranger approved of the increase. They made sure everyone got inside safely and there were guards on both the front and back doors.

Ranger went to RangeMan's Office and got a full report. Brian had all the searches they had done on Stella Knight. She had things in her background that should have prevented her from getting the job in the first place. She had a felony convictions for fraud and embezzlement under her maiden name. Stella also is also being treated for alcoholism out of county so the county did not find out.

Brian and Ranger called the investigative reporter to a meeting and they showed him all the paperwork and they asked him for his help stopping this process.

They proved that the court system had fixed the legal parts and that the

the marriage things were repaired so everything was legally fixed. The problem now is how to repair RangeMan's reputation.

The investigative reporter told them he would try to turn the attention to Stella Knight and the reason behind her motive.

Ranger did admit he had a one-night stand with her two days after the so-called divorce 17 years ago. But how many men have had one night stands and did not have to deal with this?

That night there was a news magazine report on this issue. Ranger watched with intensity.

The reporter told the cameras what Stella Knight told him to start the investigation. The reporter told the people that he took it for gospel and after checking his facts he has learned that Stella was on a vendetta against the owner of the company for something that has turned into an obsession for her.

The owner was young at the time and two days after he thought he was divorced he went out for a few drinks. Something many people have done. He found a good looking girl and they hook up for night. Now tell me others have not done the same!

After the hook up the owner never called the girl back. She got mad and probably had hurt feelings. This is when the grudge began. She hated him and when 17 years later she saw his name on that court paper she decided to get even with him.

She called me and wanted me to spread the word about this alleged criminal. As it turns out our very court system we all rely on is the guilty party.

A secretary took it upon herself to sign the divorce decree and not have the judge to do it. Yes, that made the divorce null and void.

Fast forward to now and it comes to light. The owner of RangeMan took legal action with in two days of being notified of the problem. He then immediately refiled for a divorce and it was granted immediately. So you may think that all is fine. Not so.

The first wife had remarried and it caused her to be a bigamist, even though she did not know it. So that marriage was illegal. Well her second husband died. Here it affects our Social Security Department as well because she is a widow and applied for widow benefits she thought she was entitled to.

Still not the end of the story.

There was an adoption of the baby and that court mess up annuls the adoption. So now a young adult has to change her name all because our court system can't get it straight!

The male in this cluster mess up got remarried two months ago. He was a bigamist in the eyes of law.

Once he got his legal divorce he remarried his girlfriend. They are once again legally married.

Folks this all happened within one week because ONE female was carrying a grudge of 17 years. Come on now, people, who hasn't had a one-night stand, went out drinking and picked someone up?

Would you want that to come back to haunt you? Then imagine that you have a family who knew nothing of your past? But in this, reporters view, the owner of our local RangeMan took extraordinary steps to fix the problem and he willing is covering all the expenses this tragedy has brought about.

But this owner also has not changed his tactics and is still donating to many local community charities. If you know this company I would ask you to think twice before canceling your contracts with them. No they are not paying me a cent to say this. In fact I would ask the owner to contact me and I want their company to protect me and my family. This is a very honorable company.

As for Stella Knight. She is now under investigation for lying on her employment contract and her treatment for alcoholism in our current system should have put her off work until she completed her treatment. But had all of this come to light before the paper turned up maybe, just maybe this many lives would not have been disrupted.

This reporter is asking our officials to check into how many other mix-ups are in our past. How many bigamists are out there and don't even know it? Folks if any of you have divorce decrees maybe you should check your own decrees. Make sure the judge signed your decree and not Stella Knight. I can only hope that is an isolated incident but if she did it once how many other times has this happened?

Good night folks and remember we are here to uncover fraud even if it is years old. But we are also here to protect the innocent and in this incident RangeMan is totally innocent and thanks to their owner everything is once again legal and there to serve you.

You can contact me at WPGM Local 10. I would to know your feedback on this or maybe you have a topic you want me to investigate for you. Back to our news.

Ranger felt sorry he had to be dragged into the public but he felt that the reporter had done a good job of defending him and his company.

Harold, was on the Miami RangeMan's switchboard and it lit up like Christmas and since everything is recorded coming into the office he was certain Ranger would be pleased. Most of the calls were praising the company and not one call from a client wanting to cancel their contracts. It went on for almost 3 hours before the phones settled down for the night.

The next day at the morning meeting the results were read. There was

2,486 calls and not one cancellation. There was 135 requests for new service. Ranger praised the whole team and told them he was heading home today. He did ask the men their opinion of the situation and all of them felt he had done a good job of identifying the problem and solving it quickly and to contain the fall out. They re-pledged their support for him and the company cause.

Ranger sent the reporter a gift card for $300 to Fleming's Prime Steakhouse and Wine Bar. With his thanks and a report on how his piece affected his business.

Ranger called Jim and made arrangements to head back to Trenton. Ranger called Tank and had the Porsche delivered to the airport and to not tell Stephanie he was coming in so he could surprise her.

It was late when he came in through the gate and he thought she would be in bed. Boy was he surprised!

Ranger walked into the living room and Stephanie was sitting on the couch in a negligee. "Welcome home, husband."

"How did you know I was coming in? I told Tank not to tell you so I could surprise you."

"Mr. Manoso, you are not the only one who knows how to track a wayward spouse."

"You planted a tracker on me?"

"How does it to have your actions being monitored 24/7?"

"Being tracked by you is a turn on."

"Is it honeymoon time again?"

"Mrs. Manoso, don't tell me you are horny after only a few days?"

"Well either you can solve it or do I have to call Batman?"

"I think I am capable of dealing with this problem."  
"Then shut up and do it."

Ranger closed the space between us and carried me to the bedroom.

Let's see if he is man enough to do it right?


End file.
